Protecting a two-point lead with 21 seconds left, the Pirates used a double-inbounds pass to break a full-court press, and all five players touched the ball before Sandro Mamukelashvili flushed it home, icing a 76-75 victory before 7,000 relieved fans at the Prudential Center.

"That's just us believing in each other," said Hall guard Myles Powell, who led all scorers with 31 points. "It didn't matter who had the ball."

The textbook sequence, which Pirates coach Kevin Willard drew up moments earlier, went like this: Quincy McKnight inbounded the ball left across the baseline to Shavar Reynolds, who bounced it in to Powell, who cross-courted to a streaking McKnight, who lobbed it ahead to Myles Cale, who bounced it to Mamukelashvili, who dribbled once along the right baseline before dunking with 12 seconds remaining.

The finish by Mamukelashvili (seven points, eight rebounds) was especially meaningful because the sophomore forward missed a game-winning 3-point shot with three seconds left in Saturday's surprising loss at DePaul.

"We’ve been picking him up the last two days in practice," Powell said. "The story about us is we never talk down on each other. We're brothers, and we're in this together. We told him, 'It's OK, that play is over.'"

All told, the basketball traveled 94 feet on just one dribble. It was a coach's dream.

"You've got to give the credit to Coach Willard," Powell said. "He knows what he's doing in that situation. We're kids that listen, and we're listening to one of the best coaches in the conference and in the country."

The execution was remarkable on its face but even more so in the context of the evening. Seton Hall committed 16 turnovers and shot 23 of 37 from the free-throw line (62 percent).

"We ran that three or four times last year, so Sandro knew what he was doing, Myles Cale knew what he was doing and Myles Powell, but this is the first time having Q (McKnight) out there and Shavar (Reynolds)," Willard said. "It's a simple play, and it's designed to kind of get the ball back into Myles' (Powell's) hands, but also designed to take a little time off the clock so they can't foul right away. It was good to attack and get a layup."

It was particularly bold for Willard to call Mamukelashvili's number again in a big spot.

"The reason why Sandro had the ball at the end of the game last time is because I had confidence in him to make the right decision, and he made the right decision last game (to hold onto the ball), he just didn't make the right play (shooting a 3 instead of driving)," Willard said. "We ran it today, and he made the right decision, he made the right play."

Powell shot 8 of 15 from the field and 13 of 15 from the free-throw line as Seton Hall (12-4 overall, 3-1 Big East) moved into sole possession of second place in the conference.

"He’s tremendous, tremendous. I told him that in the handshake lane," Butler coach LaVall Jordan said. "The way he’s improved each season, he’s a complete player now, not just a shooter.”

Butler (10-6, 1-2) is 8-5 all-time against the Pirates, including a win in last year’s Big East Tournament quarterfinal.

This was the Pirates’ home pit-stop amid a stretch of four road trips in five games, an unfavorable bend forced by the appearance of Disney on Ice at the Prudential Center. Saturday they visit 21st-ranked Marquette, where they’re just 2-9 since 2007.

FIVE TAKEAWAYS

1. They made Baldwin work

The biggest task for any team facing Butler is defending ace guard Kamar Baldwin, who came in averaging 16.5 points, 5.4 boards and 4.0 assists. Ideally, lockdown defender McKnight would have handled the assignment the entire night, but he ran into foul trouble so Willard rotated several guys. Baldwin finished with 23 points on 10-of-26 shooting.

“We made him take a lot of tough twos, a lot of tough pull-up threes,” McKnight said. “He’s one of those players who can spin to either side and be accurate, which you don’t really see a lot in college. But we battled against him. This was definitely a good test.”

2. Brodie contributes

With backup center Romaro Gill still sidelined by a sprained ankle and starting forward Mike Nzei accruing early foul trouble, Kevin Willard dusted off freshman Darnell Brodie. The 6-foot-9, 265-pound forward/center had tallied just 12 garbage-time minutes over three appearances, but he held his ground, posting three points and six boards over 19 important minutes.

"Darnell has such a great attitude, he brings it every day to practice," Willard said. "He doesn't look like a joyous, happy kid — he's always got the same look on his face — but he's had a great attitude. It's been tough for him not to play, but he said he was ready, and he played phenomenal."

Willard said Gill is walking OK now and hopes to have him back for Tuesday's trip to Providence.

3. Depth a virtue

Willard played all 10 of his available players at least five minutes, and the Hall needed them all in a contest riddled by whistles.

All 10 scored points, which is highly unusual even for typically deep squads.

"Most teams in this league, you don't get past seven people playing," McKnight said. "For us to have 10 guys, it shows you how we can go to our bench and everybody's ready at any time."

4. Minimal returns for Jorgensen

Butler guard Paul Jorgensen, a Don Bosco Prep grad, came home averaging 13.5 points and shooting 40 percent from 3-point range. The senior posted six points on 3-of-7 shooting in the first half but took just one shot in the second half as Powell effectively erased him. He also chipped in three assists and three rebounds.

"That was Myles Powell's best defensive game he's had in a long time," Willard said.

5. Powell gaining notice

The Wooden Award’s midseason watch list came out Wednesday, and Powell is one of the 25 semifinalists. He’s joined by fellow Big East guards Shamorie Ponds of St. John’s and Markus Howard of Marquette. That’s the first step toward achieving All-America status. The Hall’s last true All-American, not counting honorable mention, was Terry Dehere in 1993.